Chapter 31 The night is beautiful tonight, perfect for barbecue

It’s really not easy to eat this peach. I was exhausted all night.

Yun Qiao woke up the next day and sat on the bed for a long time.

She only heard Chen Jingyan say that he would be returning to the northwest soon and probably wouldn't be able to come to see her for a while. Yun Qiao just felt relieved.

But the man who was holding her down demanded it fiercely.

The result of asking for it was that her legs were shaking and she didn't want to move at all.

The next morning, Yun Qiao and Fang Jia went to Cheng Danmei's place together.

Cheng Danmei likes to play cards, especially Little Leaf cards.

Yun Qiao didn't know how to play at first, but after playing a few times, she learned it. She was quite talented in playing cards and won two taels of silver in the morning.

But he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

Small Leaf Cards can be played by three, four or five people.

Today, Yun Qiao and Fang Jia are playing with Cheng Danmei, that is, the three of them are playing. If Cheng Danmei loses, Fang Jia will also win, but the winnings are less.

Yun Qiao won all the battles.

"Sister Qiao is so lucky. You won everything today. Why don't you treat us all to dinner tonight?"

Sun Sisi, who was looking at the cards on the side, said with a smile.

Yun Qiao responded cheerfully, "Why not? What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine, but that barbecued meat wrapped in vegetables you made last time was delicious. Why not have that?"

Fang Jia immediately followed suit and said, "This is good, this is good. Sister Sun's cooking skills are good, but when it comes to barbecue and hot pot, Sister Qiao's cooking is still the best."

"Then let Sister Qiao do it."

Cheng Danmei also said with a smile, "I'll prepare the meal for you, just go and prepare it."

Hearing this, Yun Qiao naturally agreed.

"Sister Mei, just give the money first. I promise to make sure everyone has good food and drinks."

Cheng Danmei knew what Yun Qiao was thinking, so she just let her do what she wanted.

"Okay, I'll give you two taels of silver first, and you go and make the arrangements."

Two taels of silver is a lot of money. If it were in the countryside, it would be a month's daily expenses.

Yun Qiao responded with a smile.

It’s getting late today, and I think I won’t be able to buy any fresh meat outside, but I can still pick out some vegetables outside.

As for meat, go to the big kitchen and take a look, maybe you can get something good there.

After Miss Wang came to the Marquis' Mansion, a lot of fresh meat was sent. In addition to wild boar meat, some wild rabbit and musk deer meat were also sent in the past few days.

After leaving Cheng Danmei's place, Yun Qiao asked her maid Xiaotao to go outside to buy some vegetables, and she went to the kitchen herself.

Mother Wang was sitting under a persimmon tree in the kitchen yard, swaying and eating melon seeds.

Hearing someone looking at Yun Qiao coming, he greeted her.

Only then did Mother Wang look up.

"Miss Qiao is here..."

Xiaotao is sweet-talking and helpful, and Yunqiao treats the people in the kitchen well. Anyone who brings her something is rewarded with money. When Mother Wang saw Yunqiao coming, she stood up and asked.

"Why did Miss Qiao come here in person today? Dinner isn't ready yet. You can just wait in the room."

Yun Qiao smiled lightly, "I want to talk to Mother Wang about something today. I wonder if it would be convenient for you to talk for a moment..."

She had money, so Mother Wang was just secretly giving her some unwanted meat from the kitchen. There was nothing wrong with that.

The masters don't eat the leftovers in the big kitchen. Basically, the chef takes the lion's share, and the people below drink the soup. The stewards above turn a blind eye when they see it. After all, the masters don't say anything, and the stewards above are given gifts by the people below, so there is nothing wrong with it.

"Is that so? That's fine. Miss Qiao is also the Marquis's person. If she wants to eat something, she can just send someone to get it. Even if the higher-ups find out, I can report it and there will be no problem."

Concubines, maids, and concubines can ask the steward for whatever they want to eat or use as long as they are thick-skinned.

If you can get it, that’s the best. If you can’t, it’s just a comment.

However, Yun Qiao usually doesn't make a fuss about asking for it.

"I am only a humble concubine, and yet Madam Wang can speak to me so kindly; that means she is on good terms with me. This thing must pass through Madam Wang's hands, and Madam Wang, use this money to buy wine."

Yun Qiao smiled and stuffed the purse into Mother Wang's sleeve.

Mother Wang did not refuse. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Miss Qiao. Just go back and wait."

Yun Qiao asked for two cucumbers from the kitchen and said she would take them home to use as a facial mask.

Mother Wang ordered the maid to cook, and took the cucumber to Yun Qiao and left.

She then turned and went to the main kitchen, and told her confidant to take the remaining meat from the main kitchen today, as well as two pork ribs, some roe deer meat, half a chicken or duck, and half a pig's large intestine.

There were a lot of ingredients and spices in the kitchen prepared for Yunqiao.

Mother Wang got one or two taels of silver from Yunqiao and used the ingredients from the big kitchen, so she got the money for free.

Besides, even if I don’t give the pig intestines and some leftover ingredients to Yunqiao, they will all be collected and thrown away by the evening.

Some of these ingredients are good.

After the food from the Marquis's kitchen was thrown away, someone would wait there to pick up some clean and edible food from the discarded food and take it home.

Not long after Yun Qiao returned to Xiaoxiang Garden, a maid from the main kitchen brought in a bamboo basket filled with a lot of meat and vegetables, which was covered with something.

If outsiders saw it, they would just say that they were sending some vegetables, fruits and melons to Xiaoxiang Garden.

There are plenty of vegetables and fruits on the marquis's farm. When they can't be eaten all, some will be sent to Xiaoxiang Garden. It's not surprising that this happens often.

What's more, it was not early tonight. The lanterns had just been hung up and the road from the kitchen to Xiaoxiang Garden was still dark. No one would see if I delivered something.

Yun Qiao opened the bamboo basket and took a look, then gave the maid some change and asked Xiao Tao to send the person to the door.

Then Yun Qiao was busy cutting the ingredients.

In fact, these ingredients have all been processed. Even the pig intestines that look unprocessed are clean and there is no dirt on them.

I happen to have some green onions, so we’ll have grilled large intestines with green onions tonight.

I heard that the green onions grown on the farm in the marquis's mansion were bought from Shandong. These green onions are sweet and crispy, especially when dipped in soybean paste, they taste even better.

Xiaotao watched the girl prepare, and she was responsible for putting the prepared ingredients into the lunch box.

We're having a barbecue in the yard tonight, not at anyone's house.

The weather in mid-to-late May is not too cold at night. You can enjoy the breeze, eat barbecue, and have a few glasses of wine.

Everything was almost ready, so Yun Qiao went outside to light the stove and put charcoal on it.

Not long after, several concubines in Xiaoxiang Garden also arrived one after another.